Pill cutter

4,120 Comments.

Hi Paul, I ordered zinc and copper separately and am awaiting my order. When I run out of copper and zinc, is the Opti-Zinc from Source Naturals that has copper in the ingredients (300 mcg) something I can order to supplement both zinc and copper? I don’t always eat beef liver weekly, maybe once per month.

I found duck liver pate at Whole Foods. Duck liver’s pretty high in copper at 1.7mg per oz. (versus 2.7mg per oz. w/beef liver). Will report back if I can find any nutritional data on the product itself. I’m sure it’s delicious.

It seems to be beneficial against diabetes and cancer, and supports thyroid function as well as glucose and lipid metabolism.

I don’t think we need or want much, but it seems prudent to avoid an overt deficiency. 25 mcg weekly is 3.6 mcg per day which is less than some multivitamins contain, eg Centrum Silver has 10 mcg. Older people may benefit more based on high rates of diabetes in the elderly and lower food intakes.

Maybe I should have made it optional. If you eat a lot of vegetables you probably get enough from food.

I don’t think it’s necessary to get one with pepsin. However, if you show signs of lots of undigested protein (eg very smelly stool/gas), then it might be worth a try. I wouldn’t know what amount would be best.

Digestive enzymes — I mainly recommend ones that have a diversity of enzymes including carbohydrate digesting enzymes such as hemicellulase, cellulase, amylase; natural food enzymes such as bromelain and papain; and mixed proteases. These are more likely to help against microbial biofilms. We suggest a brand in the supplement recs but I don’t have a strong brand preference.

I still have 2 bottles of Now Foods Zinc Picolinate 50 mg. Do you find think this form is less effective? I do not mind tossing these out to get the ones you recommend. Or do you think I should finish these off and then pick up your recommendation for Zinc?

It may take ~3-4 weeks to adapt to higher iodine intake, but I think it’s beneficial to take some iodine. It helps heal thyroiditis, reduces antibody levels in autoimmune disease, and over time it usually reduces the amount of thyroid hormone you need to take.

I have to take Levothyroxine to suppress thyroid function, because I had Papillary Thyroid cancer 18 years ago and they only removed half of my thyroid back then. (55 now) My TSH is kept below 0.1. I am taking all your supplement suggestions, except Iodine.
Will it be safe for me to take a low dose of Iodine?
Will it change my TSH levels?
My Endocrinologist thinks I don’t need it, but because of all the benefits I am thinking of trying it. (I also have gut issues and waiting for Metametrix results.) The remaining part of my thyroid has shrunk over the years and I don’t have antibodies. Shrimp and seaweed isn’t part of my diet, but I have started with the rest of the food on the PHD.

I have a question about having dark chocolate daily. Does it need to be every day or what is the mininum grams per day. I have been having around 35g a day of 70% but I wondered if less would be ok or not having it at all. I am just worried about having sugar as I have had been addicted to sugar before. Maybe there is a way of having dark chocolate without sugar. thank you.

No, it doesn’t need to be every day. In fact you don’t need chocolate at all if you don’t want it – we recommend supplementing magnesium and zinc for instance so there’s no real need for its nutrients.

But there might be a benefit to having some chocolate every day. It has opioid peptides (exorphins) which may support daytime circadian rhythms. So eating chocolate during the daytime (not at night) might support health.

But the sugar is bad, so you should get dark chocolate. 70% is OK, 85% would be even better. I think 35 g is a healthy amount.

It seems like there are A LOT of supplements to take. Even if we forego the optional ones. Are there any concerns regarding the effectiveness of these supplements? Most of them are pretty cheap, which is nice, however, how much do we know about what’s actually IN them and the quality of it? How much confidence do you have that these super cheaply made products are actually benefiting our health?

I value your opinion greatly and would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Although there are a lot of pills, there’s not a lot of the active compounds. If you compare them to a multivitamin, the daily dose of most is lower, and many things in a multi are missing.

So quality and fillers/binders would be the concern.

As far as I know, all the linked supplements are made by reputable firms and have what they promise.

I’ve heard concerns raised about a few binders, like magnesium stearate, but have not seen strong evidence against them.

So I guess my answer is, yes, it’s not a perfect situation; it would be better to make our own multi which has everything in one or two pills with minimal binders. But until we find the time to delve into the supplement industry and understand it, this is the best we can do. Overall, I think getting the right amount of the various nutrients is more important than avoiding binders/fillers.

Leucine alone is good. Most of the BCAA mixes are about 2:1:1 leucine:isoleucine:valine, but optimal might be 4:1:1 or 8:1:1. Leucine alone is probably at least as good as the 2:1:1 mix. This is for supporting a ketogenic diet / ketosis.

I apologize in advance if this question has been answered (either here or in your book), but how come you recommend taking B-Vitamins weekly rather than in smaller daily doses? Why don’t you recommend Folate (B9)? And lastly, why do you recommend such a large amount of B1 (thiamin)?

Hi Paul,
Just wanted to double check: I still have 2 bottles of Now Foods Zinc Picolinate 50 mg. Do you find think this form is less effective? I do not mind tossing these out to get the ones you recommend. Or do you think I should finish these off and then pick up your recommendation for Zinc?
Erich

🙁 i need some input so will try to be as brief as possible. February 2012 severe Rt3 issue.
Reversed with T3 only treatment. Iron is perfect, B12, D, etc all within excellent limits for hashimotos person. Adrenal saliva diurnal testing showed low normal morning low midday, low normal evening and hgh night cortisol. I did the Circadian dosing with T3 and immediately felt better this past summer. Started Nature Throid in August (2 grains twice a day was starting dose), and iodine 1mg per month. Am now up to 3mg. I also do selenium 200mg 5x a week and ALL b companion nutrients, Vitamin C, K2 etc. Basically everything on the Perfect health supplement page pertaining to these items..I take. I eat gluten free, low fruit safe starches and NO sugars of any kind except red wine. I am taking 1/2 grain nature throid 3 x a day now bc I felt my adrenals crashing out at the topping dose of 4mg I was on about two weeks ago. I have HIGH morning temps (98.75 and 99.0), high to normal mid morning temps 98.9 and 98.48, and mid day temps settle around 98.48 each day around 3pm. Here’s the problem: I feel like crap. I have fat around my middle that won’t budge, I can’t exercise for long at all (I personal train and by mid morning I an ZAPPED), and sex hormones are low: testosterone is low normal, progesterone low (estrogen dominant) and on low dose of Emerita and testosterone. my SHBG is HIGH 9in the 200’s) even though I am hypothyroid. NO one can figure that out for me…and no one can help me. Why is my temp high with hyper feelings and heart POUNDING after dosing with nature throid yet I feel hypo? My BP is typically 110/70 BPM 69 but 90/54 yesterday. doctor attributes it to how physically active I am. I am clueless and out of ideas. MY last Rt3 was 18.7 (RATIO should be under 20) and my frees were middle low. With adrenals and thyroid and sex hormones all having so many of the same symptoms I have NO idea what to do. The iodine has caused Bromide purging (I am deficient in iodine by 20% with a high bromide percentage) so taking Iodine has done something to me….I also take 2mg of LDN each night. what should I do? stop nature throid and support adrenals? If so with what? Way too many adaptogens are out there and conflict with hashimotos…I have most of them on hand. thanks ahead of time for reading and responding…I am out of ideas and my doctor isn’t going to be able to help much in this dept. 🙁 More testing tomorrow on alll thyroid labs to keep up with everything. I should also mention I am 5’6 1/2″ and weight 131. I am 6 pounds from my idea weight. I also follow circadian sleeping and lifestyle with plenty of exercise and outside time etc regardless of how I feel. I am going broke trying to figure this out. p.s. the Paleo style NO carb diet is what I believe threw me into RT3 last fall….I felt like death.

I sympathize with your plight. Unfortunately it’s hard for me to tell what you should do. I think your diet and supplements sound good now; I’m assuming you’re no longer too low carb. It’s hard for me to tell from your reported symptoms whether the hormones you are taking are helping or hurting.

One thing to consider is that hyperthyroid symptoms can resemble hypothyroid symptoms, and that some people are not clearly one or the other, but can be both: thyroid hormones do not follow normal rhythms and can be too high sometimes and too low other times. So perhaps the lab tests are misleading, or were measured at the wrong time of day to flag a problem.

I would try to take minimal hormones – just enough to keep you from feeling lousy – not necessarily the amount the doctor prescribed. Often you can cut pills with a razor blade to test lower doses. The goal is to avoid interfering with the body’s natural processes as much as possible.

I’d also continue to give yourself time to heal. The circadian rhythm strategies are important. Also it’s OK to be a bit overweight while your thyroid and adrenals are messed up. That’s natural and you shouldn’t fight it – rather try to heal and then your weight will come down.

Finally, I’d try supplementing NAC just in case there is an infectious component to this. NAC is good against many chronic infections.

Thank you Paul…I certainly don’t expect you to tell me what to do..the way I phrased that was out of desperation….I just wanted your expert input on some next steps. I don’t think the hormones are doing much to be honest….three months on progesterone and libido is still MIA. 😕 I am off all meds today for testing and have been off iron for three days so I hope to get an accurate updated picture of this mess. The joint pain is the worst…snapping and cracking noises (no arthritis…been that route several times) and then shots of pain when it happens. I am reading and re-reading all of the Mario posts (I can’t retain much info at one time so I contstantly repeat). I really appreciate your time.

I had some similarly confusing hormonal readings and felt like crap, despite being fairly PHD compliant. I’ll spare you those details.

I persisted in trying to diagnose infections, and after months of testing and doctor visits have discovered an acute epstein-barr infection, and worse, lyme disease. I probably have other infections too.

So for now I’m working on infections and not worrying so much about hormonal and other general health metrics. Liberated probably is too positive a word here. But I am at least willing to postpone worrying about say my cholesterol or thyroid readings while these infections are active.

Perhaps you’ve already pursued this angle, just my two cents. Also, as a former overexerciser myself, maybe it’d be better not to push yourself until you get your health back.

Thanks Shawn….I have been tested for EBV and Lyme. Sadly…I gave up intense exercise quite some time ago and literally only walk my dogs and do some minor core work right now as endurance is crud. 🙁 I am glad you at least got some direction…I feel lost.

You know, my wife had snapping and cracking noises and discomfort in her joints, especially hand joints, until she start supplementing vitamin K2 (and D), then they went away. It may have been some kind of calcification of soft tissue in the joints. I would be very careful about nutrition. If you optimize diet and lifestyle, it should improve, and then you can have more confidence that remaining problems are infectious and can search for specific treatable causes.

It can be true, but in most cases if you take the supplements with a meal that contains a diversity of foods including some fats, then they’ll be well absorbed. Conversely the “food state” supplements may not have enough “food” in the pill to enable good absorption if taken apart from a meal. So I think taking them with a meal is most important.

When it comes to supplementing with Iodine, are there any other supplements which should not be taken along side iodine?

I am going to start supplementing with Iodine when I break my 16 hour fast at around midday. I’m going to take the magnesium and vitamin C at the same time too. Is this safe and would not effect the potency of the Iodine?

Thank you Paul…I take the K2 you recommended. As of today I feel less joint pain (could be because I took my nature throid down due to hyper feelings…had an ekg yesterday bc of heart pounding (my doctor insisted even though I have Mitral Valve Prolapse and it can cause irregularities). EKG came back abnormal. I feel better on less medicine (could be the iodine raise I did is doing more work so will stay the course with your recommended supplements and diet. You’ve been a tremendous help.

Hi Paul,
I haven’t found anything on sulfur/sulfate in your list of recommended supplements. Do you still recommend one teaspoon of Epsom salt daily dissolved in a cup of water in order to fix a sulfur deficiency?

Well, I’ve sort of backed away from that as a routine thing, out of concern that too much sulfur in the digestive tract might support an excess of sulfur-metabolizing bacteria. Epsom salt baths would be safer, or sulfur-rich foods.

It’s hard to know who is sulfur deficient. Some of the most important sulfur is in protein (cysteine, methionine).

Hi Paul,
After reading this post and watching your AHS safe starches panel (kudos on both), I am curious about the following:

Background:
I do none of that Crossfit/Metabolic conditioning/interval training(heart pumping) work and only pure strength dedicated work through gymnastics/movement with the goal of gaining more relative bodyweight strength (not necessarily more hypertrophy as in body building; muscle gain is fine so long as the focus is on maximizing relative bodyweight strength a la gymnasts).

For the intake of macronutrients, should they be based on “ideal” Lean body mass that we wish to achieve or is it more of a blanket recommendation?

What would you suggest my intake for these elements (should the prescription be general (ie: 600 calories for any person) or as some ratio using your “ideal” lean body mass that you wish to achieve? ie: 1 gram/kg of ideal LBM)
1) carb
2) whole protein
3) BCAA supplemenation
4) leucine supplementation

So if my 1 g/kg leads me to 65 grams of protein, and i take in 600 carb calories, that puts me to 860 carb+protein calories, 340 calories short of your recommended 1200.

1) Since BCAA and leucine supplementation saves me money off from whole protein, can I make up for this deficiency with 85 grams of BCAA and leucine (that sounds like a lot)? Or should I add in whole protein and carb to get to 1200 calories?
2) what would be a good split for BCAA and leucine.

I’m a bit confused. It’s not necessary to eat 1200 carb+protein calories, although for athletes that may be beneficial. For most people 860 is sufficient, and the 600 carb / 1 g/kg protein is intended for ordinary people.

85 g BCAA/leucine is too much. 10 g would be plenty for one day. Protein is very cheap — eggs are cheap, you can get grassfed organ meats for $3-4 per pound.

two Final questions:
1) would eating too many egg yolks be a PUFA concern? I avoid egg whites because of avidin, as I heard that it is still a small concern even when cooked from a masterjohn article.
2) So 600 carb calories, 1 g/kg (65 g protein – ~1/2 lb meat + 3 egg yolks + liverwurst from time to time) and 10 g BCAA should be sufficient and near optimal for someone looking to gain strength?

It’s sufficient on average, not necessarily optimal. Optimal is to have intense workouts and rest days, and to overeat after a workout (~25% extra calories, including at least 25% extra carb+protein, maybe more of an emphasis on carb and protein) and undereat on a rest day. The overfeeding / calorie excess is important for strength gains and getting the most out of workouts.

HDL from 40 to 72. Doc was amazed, asked how did it. Was it from exercise? Looked stunned when I said I actually exercise less. That I cut all sugars and refined carbs – was amazed I don’t eat dessert etc. I went into my usual Taubes, PHD, Protein Power rant and asked if I sounded like a nut. Again, Doc was cool and open minded.

Also, dropped weight by 3% (without even keeping track of calories).

As you know I added carbs (1.5 cups of rice a day, which is 65 carbs that i didn’t have before, and been a tad more loose on veggie carbs etc). Also, been strict on 3 eggs a day and the rec supplements (not the optional ones). Maybe close to 100 grams of net carbs a day now (up from 20-30 and a SPIKE in LDL.)

Question 2: Why no egg whites – saw it on some Q&A on the site? Is it just that they can start an allergy? Or to make sure not too much protein is consumed.

Question 3: Is brown rice not as optimal as white? Why am i thinking the fiber/husk is good, but there is a toxin??

Question 4: Do i need to read the first book or does book 2 have that all covered?

Like I said, primary care physician was very open minded on diet, being low carb etc. Even said my A pattern (LDL) was good news, I had a zero quantity of the second of the two B patterns. Even agreed to get me NMR lipid bloodwork profile – to count LDL particles. I agreed to see a cardioligist.

Question 5: Anything specific i need to ask the cardiologist or should have tested there? I like to be prepared.

Question 6: Do you enjoy answering questions? If not, I promise to cut them down to a bare minimum in the future!!

Oh, i brought some paperwork to doc to back up my “claims” and Doc asked for me to leave it so she can read it over.

which shows that HIGH LDL is far far far less correlated to CHV events than LOW HDL. 50% hospitalized with LDL 100 or lower! While high HDL cut risk by 8 fold for low ldl and 4 fold for high ldl. All about the HDL!!!

Oh yeah, i mentioned to Doc i think lack of iodine (crucifers, and sea salt etc) got me hypo. Then Doc pointed to my “normal” T3. I replied, but that didn’t measure reverse T3, which would be more telling.

thanks for making me a more educated patient!

BTW, got another person to order your book today. So kudos for you Paul!

My girlfriend currently eats about 200 protein calories and 250 carb calories a day. The rest are fat, probably averaging 1700 total calories. I want to incorporate more carb calories into her diet per your new suggestion, but she has trouble eating 600 carb calories in the 8 hour window that we eat food. She also feels extremely full after eating any increased carb load past 250 carbs and we noticed slight weight gain with that. Since she is relatively thin and small, and also she does not do any high intensity workouts/crossfit type, just strength/resistance work that is not metabolic conditioning, is her current diet okay? I’m worried about the glucose deprivation dangers (which she has not expressed any symptoms – dry mouth, etc) and the expensive pathways associated with using other fuel substrates.

I would expect that if she added another 250 carb calories she could cut 400 fat calories without hunger and without weight gain. But a petite woman could probably survive on what she is eating. It seems a bit of a starvation diet though, in terms of carb+protein. She would find it easier to improve her strength and fitness if she ate a bit more carbs.

Hello, I am following the PHD. I have been on statins for two years after my heart attack because my cardiologist won’t treat me if I go off them(tried that). What supplements besides CoQ10 can I take to protect myself from the side effects of the statins?

I’m disturbed that your cardiologist will refuse you care if you don’t cede control of your health to him.

May I ask: How will he know if you reduce the dose of your statins (or go off them)? If you would have abnormally high LDL/TC without them, then you should look at the nutritional or thyroid issues that would cause that, and fix them. Your GP/PCP can help with thyroid testing and treatment. If it is that your cardiologist wants to suppress LDL/TC to unnaturally low levels, then I think you should seek a second opinion.

For things that you might be deficient in as a result of statins, see the figure on the right in this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mevalonate_pathway. They include: cholesterol, ubiquinones (like CoQ10), Heme A, Sterols, and other things. You could eat a lot of red meat and butter and egg yolks and liver, or even take sterol supplements like pregnenolone, but really there is no way to fully counteract the effects of the statins, other than to stop them or reduce the dose.

Hi Paul,
About to up idoine from 225 mg (potassium iodide) to 450, as it has been 4 weeks. In 4 more weeks plan to go to 900 mg.
My question is, should I take this as four 225 mg tabs? All at once or 2 in morning and 2 at night?
Also, having 4, won’t that be 4×99 mg of potassium by supplements? Too much?
tx
Evan

Hi Paul, just now noticed that there is no more link for the probiotic. I always go through your link when I purchase my supplements and am running out of probiotics and noticed it’s gone from your list above. Any news am not aware of about probiotics? I haven’t been been able to check out your blog regularly as I should. Waiting for the delivery of the new book and excited to read it. 🙂 Again, thanks for all the work you and Sou-Ching has done so far. Great job!

1. Sounds good.
2. Not that I’m aware of.
3. It’s possible to get too much fiber.
4. I’m not aware of any (as a flavoring agent).
5. Yes. If they would make white rice syrup and noodles, I would recommend those instead. Hard to find those however.

I had a quick question on the timing of food, supplements, saurkraut and bone broth.

I have read that in general it is best to drink liquids apart from meals so that the acidity of the stomach is not diluted.

I have read that taking supplements in the beginning of your meal is best so that they can be better absorbed by increased acidity of stomach as well as the fat soluble vitamins that require fat.

I have read that saurkraut is best eaten apart from food so that they can empty out of the stomach as fast as possible without much exposure to the acidity of the stomach.

Would a routine of:
1) Drinking bone broth in the morning and eating saurkraut as well as adequately hydrating yourself for the day, and having meals throughout the day without liquids be the best idea?

2) Or is it not sub-optimal to have bone broth with meals?

3) Is it sub-optimal to hydrate yourself while eating saurkraut?

4) Is it true that I should take supplements at the beginning of the meal after the first few bites of food? I usually take HCL, and begin to eat immediately. After a few bites, I take my supplements.

I’m doubtful about the need to limit water at meals. Soups and stews are central elements of many cuisines, and probably very healthy.

I think supplements should be taken with meals but the precise timing doesn’t matter.

It’s true that stomach acid will kill some of the bacteria in sauerkraut. So if you want the highest dose of probiotics, then eating it as an appetizer or snack may be best. However, it’s not clear that most people would really benefit from a larger dose of bacteria. The key thing is to get some into the gut, then they can multiply themselves if they’re filling a niche.

I guess I have 3 quick questions around that:
1) Does bone broth yield an increase in stomach acid? ie: To optimize sauerkraut timing, is it sub-optimal to take it with bone broth?
2) Is it sub-optimal to take sauerkraut with water?
3) Would bone broth nutrients be maximized alongside a meal, as in it may be sub-optimal to have bone broth on an empty stomach?
4) We mainly use bone broth from short ribs. Do those have enough gelatin/collagen or would you reocmmend that we use shank or even oxtail?

I cook with my broth rather than drink it. For example, the broths are my liquid for rice cooking. Paul, do you think it is important to drink it for better absorption? I never thought it mattered, but reading these posts, I thought I’d ask your opinion. Also, before I read some negative things about prolonged cooking times with meaty bones, my broths would be very gelatinous after cooking it between 2 days for 20 hours or so. Now, I cook my meat broth for about 3-4 hours and the bone broths, I am still cooking for 12 or so hours. Too long since they are not very meaty? Also, I definitely get meat or bone broth daily rather than your recommended few times per week. Do you think daily is too much?

Thank you Paul. I am just removing my last long cook time bone broth from the stove now. After we finish this one, going forward, I will use your method of a few hours only, whether it is a meat or bone broth. I am sure our gas bill will be lower now! Ha-ha!

I noticed you had written this comment about Magnesium Citrate a while ago “Thank you, KKC, very interesting. I guess we should stick to the chelates. Too bad, since citrate is so much cheaper!” because KKC noticed his magnesium level was not rising until he switched to chelated forms. Do you still recommend citrate? It is a lot cheaper. Also, my friend mentioned that he gets diarrhea much more frequently with citrate. What are your thoughts?

Chelates are better absorbed and less likely to cause diarrhea, but citrates are cheaper, especially the liquid in the pharmacy sold as a laxative, so you decide. For us, we’d rather not recommend something that may have unpleasant side effects.

personally i think mag citrate is “evil”… 👿
but that’s because the first time i tried it, i did not read the label first.
I bought mag citrate in powder form, & on the label it reads “this product must be diluted into a liquid before digestion.”

I am so use to just dropping powder supps in to my mouth, and i did the same with mag citrate 🙁
A very bad rooky mistake, this stuff seriously burns, & sticks to the inside of your mouth. I got it out as quickly as possible, with some burns to tongue and roof of mouth.
That one experience put me off using it at all, even dissolved.

I’ve since read that some people recommend dissolving fully in hot water.

It also made me wonder what mag citrate in capsule form might be doing in the stomach.

I started taking Magnesium Citrate a while ago to help with constipation and was please with the results. However, when my magnesium levels were measured I was surprised to find that they were low. I increased the dosage to 800 mg a day but the retest was still low. I now realize that I should try another form, or maybe switch the afternoon dose to see if it helps.

Darrin’s comment concerned me. During the time I’ve been taking Mag Citrate my food sensitivies have increased exponentially and I have been unable to reintroduce foods without side effects. I wonder if the Citrate is adversely my gut health? Is it possible that Mag Citrate is a gut irritant and that’s why it helps with constipation?

Hi Paul, quick question to clarify in supplement recs in regards to selenium. My Cyrex Array 5 Multiple Autoimmune Reactivity Screen) finally came back and reveals an “equivocol” which is between negative and suspicious low. The ELISA Index reference is 0.1-1.3. My value was 1.15 and my ND says I have Hashimoto’s. I take upir lowest recommended dose of iodine and will increase monthly. My question is your selenium rec says 200-400 mg and mcg; so I want to know if I should be taking 200 – 400 mg or mcg per week?

I lost the email you sent with how to list ourselves as physicians working with PHD and wholistic testing. May I have the link again?
I’ve informed Van Merkl DC, who teaches nutrition by lab analysis to hundreds of DCs about your work.http://www.sciencebasednutrition.com

This is my first time ordering supplements. I’d like to start with Vitamin D/K. Have you heard any negative reviews/Do you recommend: Thorne Research Vitamin D3/K2 (MK-4)? Are there better brands you’d recommend?

I sometimes find the combo vitamins a little trickier, because say if more is taken in the winter for the vitamin D, then you get more K2 … maybe that’s good to keep them in a proper ratio, I cannot recall PHD guidance there …

Considering “10 drops contain 5,000 IU vitamin D3 and 1 mg vitamin K2” – that would be a high dose of K2 wrt to the PHD recommendations …

These are supplements we recommend be taken daily:
•Sunshine and vitamin D3 as needed to achieve serum 25OHD of 40 ng/ml.
•Vitamin K2 100 mcg or more

For the magnesium citrate you recommend (Solgar), I noticed that the 400 mg tablets are a measure of magnesium citrate, not elemental magensium. Should I take two of those near bedtime then to get 200 mg of elemental magnesium?

Just noting that Doctor’s Best has additional info on the next line of the nutrition lable showing weight amount of the magnesium salt. Glycinate is 10% elemental vs. Citrate 16%, so it’s all making sense. Doctor’s Best is just a little better with the details on the label.

Since adding back rice I have now returned to Japanese restaurants, and boy have i missed sushi and rolls. Look at the pluses, rice (safe non toxic, fish (lean or fatty), and seaweed. However, i am leary of soy sauce.

I do. But I was leary of soy. Perhaps the HCL neutralizes the negative properties? Hence why I asked if you would “approve” it on PHD.

One thing that got me curious is K2. Isn’t more better? Why limit to only 100 mg a day?

Also, I am devouring all your prior articles, and was astounded by your experience with low C and scurvy. I used to take 4 MG of C a day regularly, but reduced to 1 MG as per your guidelines – and I think I recall some negative interaction with Cu, is that true. Or can go back up to 3-4 MG a day in C?

As you know I have fine tuned supplements and carbs to attack a rising LDL issue.

Thank you in advance and I wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season.

Hi Paul,
For the magnesium citrate you recommend (Solgar), I noticed that the 200 mg tablets are a measure of magnesium citrate, not elemental magnesium. Internet sources says “Magnesium citrate contains 80 mg of elemental magnesium per 500 mg tablet.” Does this mean I should take approx 6 200 mg solgar tablets before I go to bed?

As another datapoint my magnesium glycinate from doctor’s best actually says elemental magnesium at 200 mg.

Could this be why KKC (from an earlier comment) noted that he did not see magensium levels rising as he might have been taking too few?

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